Y cant u freaks get it in ur skull I bought my stuff from a authorized dealer LDS but diffrence is he dont rip ppl off by doubling prices as I said before no more than 40 bux higher than the lowest price i found on Leisure pro ITS STILL AUTHORIZED DEALER its still a local shop so wats ur problem cant stand knowing some shops realized that they can stay in buisness and still take care of their cosumers.
your keep saying same thing and i will too you do not need to hike prices that high I found several shops that are very nicely priced and they give classes and trips and everything else maybe you should think about serving people instead of only a certain income base. I know the shops i go to are doing fine and i dont pay double and yes he dont hound me if I can get the same mask cheaper he dont make ya feel like a dik either he knows I still buy majority and classes and trips and services from hi.
You don't care if they buy 0 rings from online or another shop u want everything I met a few shop owners like you and i refuse to even give them my tiume for classes

PPL you don't have to settle for what your local dive shop has to say travel a hour out of your way so what. go elsewhere look around I already went 3 hours round trip just cause the local shop was like these guys here.even 680 for a sunnto pro back cobra plus 30 bux in gas is better then 1100 bux anyway you slice it Also if they are a authorized dealer and service dept they cant refuse to work on it. that is what these guys are griping about u buy it cheaper (rwether its a dealer or web) they dont want to service it if it wasnt purchased by them. I can get on a soap box too guys.
ur spending thousands of dolars on equipment and thousands on classes and trips y not add a few bux to gas and get it at a reasonable price

o comon just read that about teach for the love of teaching, ppl how many of you went to a class supposed to be 3 days of 4 hours and say 3 days of 2 hour pool session and u are out of class within 40 mineuts not 4 hours and ur pool session is a hour not 2 , but this is cause they love it so much , u pay them and they take shortcutsive been to padi ssi naui classes most are all the same. a few ur there for the time they say but not many. Y is that my son took open water recently his 16-20 hours of class time ended up like 4 hours all together please explain this to me

sorry about my ranting but briano brought up a good point , about bringing in new ppl to the sport. well a person w a limited income and haves himself and 3 family members diving don't have the option just to buy a 1100 computer from u just because u say to or because u happen to be within my city limits if i can get the same pc for 680 w all the warrenties and instruction than u why the hell shouldnt I (or anyone esle )do that. right now my closest refill is 40 minuets away so ya know what I have no problems with adding 20 min to that drive. you want more pppl to come and learn to dive. but I'll be honest when i first started it took me awhile to actully do it cause of shops like these guys and the highest prices they can charge until I found that u can purchase this stuff safely online and once I learned where more shops are located I was able to "SHOP" for the best quality price and customer service I wanted. but as i said I was afraid to join at first due to the prices and shop owners saying nah u dont want the 300 dollar reg u want this 500 and u need this and this but that 500 bc isnt good for "you " u need this 800 tech harness.but i know maybe u are like these shops that say "if you need to ask a price , Its too much for you" well I have a wife and 2 kids that dive and we dont "ONLY" dive so we cant spend every cent of disposable incomne to the types of shops that want u to spend more more more.
I got trained at a shop I asked about equipment he always wentto the next product to at least 300 bux more thna i was lookin at, I was inretail before i managed shops too I know the tricks if they are lookin at 300 dollar reg they can afford 450 but u know some ppl can afford that but wont pay it.

bottom line is alot more ppl are coming this way for the sport and that should be good for you but instead of baggering and warning them to buy your more expensive stuff y don't you try to take the hint from these other shops and appeal to them and their wallets. we need you yeah ok i buy that BUT you need us too , if us as consumers weren't here u wouldnt have anyone to sell too.

I've been in this sport for darn near 30 years. Started in the Navy. Been in many many shops all over this country. Free Interprise is a simple concept. Get as much as you can when you can. That's buisness people and that will neven change. Don't like the price. Haggle. Don't like the answer you get? Take your buisness some where else. I can't think of a single shop where I've been that haggleing didn't leave me walking out with the feeling that I had gotten a pretty good deal. Speak up and voice your openion where it matters, in the shop. I know several shop owners very well. Most of them are my dive buddies. They are not rich by any means and a lot of the time they just barely scrape by. Negotiate with these owners and most of the time you will walk away fair price paid for services rendered. It also gives them a good insite as to what people are willing to pay. The consumer has the power to make things change. Bitching about it after the fact doesn't change a thing especially the fact that you just got slamed and YOU LET IT HAPPEN.

Many excellent points brought up here.
The consumer is the one who is going to shape the market these days. The important thing to focus on is CHOICE. Variety and items in stock are the key. At Scuba.com, the customer is in charge and has the power of deciding on what equipment they ultimately get into the water with. It all comes with full warranties, is assembled by knowledgable instructors, and you have the choice of over 6000 items.

Wow...there's alot of opinions on this issue. Here's my 2 pence worth. All be it, everything usually starts off at the local dive shop, certification, rental gear, etc. The local dive dive shop needs to be aware of the needs of new prospective client that has just walked into the door, and how are they going to retain that customer...period. With the over abundance of product information that is available and the means to purchase them should be an indicator to that shop owner what the playing field is. It is up to the shop owner to adapt to the buyer, not the other way around. I find it offensive, (and have in the past) to see business owners to lay responsibility of the consumer of their failing businesses...that makes no sense. I bought the bulk of my NEW gear online (regs, BCD, dive computer) I saved 50 to 60% off retail price, shipping included. Yes I do have warranty on all the equipment. I spent roughly about $1200 on the gear, I saved about $700. The local shop owner must realize that this the new market place, people will research everything and do anything to save what they can. I cannot understand the arguement put forward by the shop owner (Buy from me or I'll lose my business!) It is a fact that my gear will need professional servicing, am I to understand that the shop owner will decline to service my gear because I didn't buy from him?...is it getting that personal? MY BCD was $400 retail, I got it under $250. Is the shop owner upset with because I got a better price somewhere else?...heck he may have sold me if he could have been a bit more flexible....But I guess those who do their homework, and inform themselves will get blacklisted...is this in the small business operating manual? Conclusion: It's up to the local shop owner to adapt to the market place, and to stop making excuses attempt to dictate where I should buy my gear. If your business is hurting from bulk distributors, I suggest consultation with the customer retention chapter of the business manual. Obviously the bulk distibutor will not offer the one-on-one service like a local shop owner, however at what cost for adequate customer service? Is it worth $150 for the mark-up on just the BCD? or an extra $200 I saved on the regs? Surely $200 is a bit much for one yearly inspection of my regulators.